Men’s basketball gameday capsule: UConn vs. Syracuse

Updated 9:36 pm, Monday, December 4, 2017

Jim Boeheim and Syracuse take on UConn on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Jim Boeheim and Syracuse take on UConn on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Photo: Brett Carlsen / Getty Images

Men’s basketball gameday capsule: UConn vs. Syracuse

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UCONN vs. SYRACUSE

When: 9:30 p.m. Tuesday

Where: Madison Square Garden, New York

Records: UConn 6-2, Syracuse 6-1

TV: ESPN

Radio: WTIC-1080

KEEP AN EYE ON

Zone again, naturally: UConn has faced a good deal of zone this season, but nothing quite like the Orange’s lengthy, trademark 2-3 zone.

“You’ve got 6-5, 6-7 up there,” said coach Kevin Ollie. “That’s just a different zone. They’ve got length. (Oshae) Bissett is doing a great job as a freshman giving them an inside/out presence. And (Tyus) Battle and (Frank) Howard are playing phenomenal.”

Ollie noted the best way to beat the Orange’s zone is by getting defensive stops and getting out in transition, beating the zone down the floor. When the Huskies find themselves in a halfcourt offense, the key is passing the ball, limiting their ball-handling and finding openings in the zone.

“It’s gonna be a little harder, but we’ve got some things up our sleeve to get in those cracks,” said Ollie.

Two can play at that game. UConn has mixed up some zone in recent games, something Ollie is fine with — even if he’s more of a man-to-man guy.

“I like throwing zone in a little bit, just to throw the team off-balance. But at the end of the day, if I have to get a stop, I’ll probably go man-to-man … It still has to get better. I’m not satisfied with our man-to-man or our zone. I don’t think I’ll ever be satisfied, until I retire or something.”

Lean mound of rebound? Larrier is 6-foot-8 and 185 pounds, but he’s grabbed 21 rebounds the last two games and leads the team — by far — in that category at 6.8 per game.

“If he’s 180, 200, we want him to be the strongest 185, 200 he can possibly be,” said Ollie. “He’s doing a great job, getting his strength back.”